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Liverpool attacker Sadio Mane has said that Barcelona star Lionel Messi deserves the Ballon d’Or and he does not have to describe the qualities of the Argentina international. Messi came a distant fifth in the race for the coveted prize last year and that came as a surprise for many, given the attacker had helped the Blaugrana win a domestic League and Cup double.

He has not been able to replicate the feat during the recent campaign, where the Blaugrana only won the league title, but a large section of the footballing fraternity have touted him for the prestigious accolade this time around. Speaking in a press conference, Mane was asked whether he can win the Ballon d’Or ahead of Messi and he responded with a ‘No’ while saying: "I will recognise that he deserves to win it. For sure, everybody knows Messi, so I don't have to describe how good he is."

Kingsley Coman has claimed that he wants to help Bayern Munich hit great heights this season. The German outfit have been missing the spark this season as the club are still trying to recover from the loss of two big stalwarts – Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

The incredible partnership shared by the two wingers has been responsible for a large portion of the success in the last decade. The unrivalled partnership has been broken and Bayern were unable to fully replace the two players in the summer.

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has said that he would be proud to win the Ballon d’Or this year, although the main focus remains on bagging more trophies with the Merseyside giants. The Netherlands international has been a revelation since making the switch to Anfield from Southampton last year and he was hugely influential towards the Reds’ Champions League title success last term.

The trophy ended the club’s seven-year wait for silverware and Van Dijk is focused on finding more success on the team scale rather than looking at individual honours, he told Sky Sports: “If people are talking about it – you can’t say it doesn’t do you something. But it’s a subject we don’t have any influence on. I can’t change anything right now other than get fit, stay fit and that’s the situation.

Brazilian midfielder Fabinho has spoken fondly about the influence of Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool. Van Dijk has been with the Reds for only 18 months but he has changed the attitude of the club’s backline to the point that they have become genuine challengers for both domestic and European titles.
Speaking to Cleber Machado, Fabinho said that he has been impressed with the showing of Van Dijk at the heart of the defence, he quipped: “One guy who impresses me a lot is van Dijk. I hadn’t particularly seen so many games of his [before I joined]. In the games I saw, I focused on the midfield there. I didn’t see much of him.

“And man, since the pre-season I arrived, following him like that, the guy is sovereign. No one beats him on the air. I think he’s been there for 64 games without being dribbled. He’s fast, and it’s funny that it seems like he doesn’t have to make effort to run. He does it that way, like a big guy, and he easily gets to the ball.”

Egypt head coach Javier Aguirre believes Mohamed Salah could get into contention for the Ballon d’Or, should he guide the national team to African Cup of Nation success. The 27-year-old experienced another top season at the club level with Liverpool and he ended the campaign by lifting the Champions League title.

Despite this, Salah remains an outsider for the title with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him but Aguirre believes the Egyptian could make a strong push for the prestigious trophy by winning the AFCON title, he told The National: "He's helped me with the group since the beginning; he's a kind of leader. I'm really happy with him because he had an extraordinary season with his club. So I say, 'OK Mohamed, if you're able to help us win the African Cup, for sure you're going to be in the last three or four for the Ballon d'Or'. He's a very nice guy, a humble guy. He's sincere, he jokes with everybody. We have a real normal relationship."

ESPN pundit Craig Burley has said that Eden Hazard should push through a move to Real Madrid from Chelsea this summer or else he can forget about the prospect in the future. The Belgium international has just 14 months remaining on his Chelsea contract and reports have indicated that Los Blancos are eager to land his services when the transfer window reopens.

Speaking to ESPN FC, Burley indicated that Hazard can’t wait any longer to join the European champions, considering that the age won’t be by his side. He added that Los Blancos are looking into the likes of Neymar and the young Kylian Mbappe, and Hazard’s reluctance to join the club could witness them drop any future interest.

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has said that compatriot Lionel Messi remains his pick for the Ballon d’Or title. The Argentine was recently quoted stating that any player in the Champions League final should be rewarded with the prestigious accolade but he has clarify over the same by stating that he was misquoted.

Writing on his official Twitter account, Aguero said that he was asked whether he should be rewarded with the Ballon d’Or to which he added that he should have reached the Champions League final. Furthermore, he clarified that Messi remains his choice for the Ballon d’Or this year, considering his form through the course of the season.

Everton manager Marco Silva has said that he has been impressed with the performances of Bernard over the past few games for Everton. The Brazil international looked out of sorts for the Toffees during the first half of the season, but he has transformed his fortunes in the latter half, where he has become a regular from the starting lineup.

In a press conference covered by The Liverpool Echo, Silva hailed the qualities of the former Shakhtar Donetsk man, who has managed to adapt to the demands of the Premier League. He added that the Brazilian has quickly understood the tactical side of the game and has equally impressed with the defensive duties offered to him.

However, speaking to ESPN FC, the player’s father has clarified that won’t be the case and the attacker is committed to the club’s cause of winning silverware across all competitions. He added that the supporters of the club can sleep easy, given the Brazilian won’t be leaving the French champions at any point of time in the coming years.

He said: “The contract is long with PSG. We are only in the second season and it is not even over yet. We have a contract we are not even halfway through. These rumours of departure will always exist, we cannot have a player like Neymar without clubs dreaming about him.Neymar’s desire to be at PSG was expressed two years ago, so the fans can sleep easy. Today Neymar does not want to leave PSG, he wants to continue to help the club win titles.”

Former Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit has said that Zinedine Zidane was clever enough to leave Real Madrid last summer after it was known that Cristiano Ronaldo would be parting ways with the club. The French tactician had guided the club to a third successive Champions League crown last term but he thereafter made the surprise decision to step down from the role.